Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is taking aim at the rapidly expanding prediction market industry, warning that its unchecked growth threatens not only the integrity of professional sports but the soul of youth athletics as well.
Speaking on the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out, Murphy outlined the case behind his recently introduced BETS OFF Act, which he co-sponsored with three fellow Democrats. The bill targets what Murphy describes as fundamentally rigged markets where outcomes are knowable in advance.
“There are just a ton of bets on these prediction markets that are rigged by inside information and the markets make it seem as if these are on the level bets when they really aren’t,” Murphy said. “To me that’s just corruption and we shouldn’t allow for there to be fundamentally rigged prediction markets or betting markets available to ordinary consumers.”
The legislation would prohibit wagering on government actions and on events where a single individual both knows and controls the outcome.
Murphy pointed to the suspicious trading activity observed on prediction markets in the hours before the United States struck Iran as a concrete example of why such rules are urgently needed.
The regulatory landscape has made Murphy’s task considerably harder. The CFTC, which now holds jurisdiction over what it calls “event contracts,” has reportedly shuttered its Chicago enforcement office, leaving zero enforcement attorneys in place.
Meanwhile, Murphy noted that the Trump family serves as paid advisers to Polymarket and Kalshi, the two largest prediction market platforms, and is reportedly planning to launch its own competing market.
“The word is just out,” Murphy said. “We’re not enforcing any consumer protection laws against the prediction markets. We want them to get as big as possible.”
Murphy’s concerns extend beyond Washington. He is equally alarmed about what prediction markets and private equity are doing to youth sports. He described his own son’s hockey league, owned by private equity firm Black Bear Sports Group, which operates a closed circuit television system that charges parents and grandparents a subscription fee of $25 to $50 per month just to watch games remotely.
“That’s like robbing us of the things that make parenting special, that make being a kid special, as these youth sports experiences become more and more expensive and more monetized,” Murphy said.
He also called out NBA and MLB leadership directly. With Giannis Antetokounmpo holding an investment stake in Kalshi and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred framing his league’s exclusive deal with Polymarket as proactive management, Murphy sees a pattern of leagues chasing short-term revenue without grasping the long-term consequences.
“If the NBA and the NFL get in bed with these prediction markets, they are knowingly corrupting the sport,” Murphy said. “I get it that they’re just looking for a quick buck, but this one gets really gnarly pretty quickly.”
Murphy said he would welcome league commissioners testifying before Congress, arguing that direct questioning would reveal their motivations as purely financial rather than protective of the games themselves.
